Build A Bird App

As techies, designers and major supporters of STEM education we were excited when education nonprofit Iridescent Learning approached us to design and develop a mobile app that teaches children and all bird lovers about different types of birds, their habitats and behaviors.

The “Build” part of the app provides an opportunity for the user to test their learning by creating a bird that is adapted to a specific environment. On completion the user can ‘fly’ the bird through its natural environment.

To create the rich, illustrative design we worked with the illustrations of Ioana and videos from our friends at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. We designed the app to appeal to the younger demographic, as well as to not distract from the important learning aspect.

Build a Bird was featured in the Apps Store’s ‘New and Newsworthy’ section and downloaded over 50,000 times.

For more information on this project and if your interested in creating something similar for your organization contact Ian Cross.

Downtown New York Android App

In early 2013 the I-SITE developed and launched the Android version of the free Downtown NYC smartphone app, which is the latest in a series of web and mobile applications created for our client, the Alliance for Downtown New York. The application was first developed as an iOS app for iPhones and iPads. I-SITE previously launched the downtownny.com website in the spring of 2011.

The app was created for tourists, residents and workers in Lower Manhattan to to find events on an integrated Google map, share the events and locations via social media, and add events to their calendar apps on their mobile devices.

The Android app’s interface is very similar to the iOS version, but customized for Android. Both apps utilize an easy-to-use, clean interface to enable the user to, in seconds, find events and locations that interest them. Downtown Alliance staff can easily add events and other data to the application through the same CMS interface as they use to manage the website content and iPhone app.

iGorilla App

In 2010 the I-SITE team paved the way for animal conservation on mobile with iGorilla, the first iPhone app with the sole purpose of supporting the plight of Africa’s endangered mountain gorilla.

The idea for the app came about after CEO Ian Cross traveled to Virunga in 2006 after attending a creative economy conference in Rwanda. On his return Ian reached out to Emmanuel De Merode and Samantha Newport of Virunga National Park to discuss developing a social network for the gorilla families. With the explosion in the number of smart phones worldwide this idea eventually evolved into iGorilla.

Sourcing up-to-date content from the field team of scientists and rangers the users were able to select and follow a gorilla family, read updates and watch videos and donate directly to the park to support one of the many projects dedicated to gorilla conservation and helping the community.

Soon after release the App was featured on the home page of the BBC News website. For more information on this project and if your interested in creating something similar for your organization contact Ian Cross.

Fuel Up to Play 60 Website

The I-SITE team bolstered the movement to make schools a healthier place with the design and development of a website for the National Dairy Council and National Football League. The goal of the website was to enroll and support thousands of educators providing access to activities, tools and resources that help their students to engage actively in the national Fuel Up to Play 60 program.

Once registered educators were able to track the progress of their schools and students through personalized dashboards and by following six clear steps for the Fuel Up to Play 60 program. To motivate educators and students the site includes digital rewards that are downloaded once certain tasks have been completed.

Key features of the site include: